A First
by Silver Sentinel
Summary: Nosedive and his friends are attacked one night and he does something that ends up haunting him. He becomes withdrawn, which makes the others concerned. Can he be helped or not?
1. The First

Chapter 1: The First

Water rushed out of the faucet in the bathroom as it hit the hands of Nosedive, who was vigorously scrubbing them. 'Have to get it off…Have to get it off!' He thought to himself. His hands were clean, except for the fact they were red from the scrubbing. There was nothing on them but Nosedive kept at it like there was something there that only he could see. Terror was in his eyes the whole time, not leaving him even for a second, as the images kept appearing in his head over and over again. What happened hours ago were still playing in his mind and he couldn't get it to stop.

'It won't come off…It won't come off' "It Won't Come Off!" He shouted as he clutched his head and stumbled backwards.

The volume of his voice was enough to wake up Wildwing, who shot up in his bed and searched for his brother's voice. Once he found out it came from the bathroom he sprang out and rushed to it.

Upon entering he found Nosedive on the floor, back against the wall, holding his head with his eyes tightly shut. "Dive what's wrong?"

"I can't get it off…I can't get it off…"

"Get what off, what are you talking about?" Wildwing asked as his eyes wandered until he saw Nosedive's hands, both were red. "What did you do?"

"I can't get the blood off…" Was all he said.

He instantly understood what he meant after saying that, but it yet it worried him even more, "Dive it's all gone, there's no more left. You cleaned it all off earlier."

"But I can still see it…" He responded as he stood back up and moved back to the sink. "…and it won't come off!" He shouted as he grabbed the brush and started scrubbing again.

"Stop that!" the older brother yelled as he grabbed the brush. "You're going to cut yourself."

"But I have to get it off!"

"Dive there's nothing there."

"But I can still see it!" The teen cried as he clutched his head again. "It still plays in my mind, the whole thing, it keeps replaying and I can't make it stop!" His eyes were screwed shut as he gripped the sink tightly. "And I can still see his face…I can see him everywhere!"

Wildwing moved and grabbed his brother from behind and held on to him to try to calm him. It hurt him a lot to see him like this and he really couldn't do anything about it. He let Nosedive cry for a bit longer until they were sitting on the floor, then he started to calm down. "You ok now?"

"Far from it…I just want it all to go away…"

The older mallard hugged him tighter as he tried to choose his words carefully. "It's not going to be that easy Dive…the first time always isn't."

"But how long?" He shouted as he pulled away from his brother's grasp and stood back up. "How long do I have to endure this…Guilt?" His eyes then rest upon the mirror as he looked at his reflection. "Why do I even feel guilt in the first place, he attacked us!" His face turned to terror as he saw a face in the mirror, "Leave me alone!" he yelled as he slammed his fist into the mirror, shattering the glass.

Wildwing was there to catch his brother as his legs gave way. He held on to him and easily settled them both on the floor, being careful not to his any shards of the mirror. He then Looked at the teen's hand and was horrified to see it was cut, and bleeding but luckily it wasn't that severe. "Dive hold on, your hand's cut." That didn't reach him as he continued crying. Wildwing sat his brother against the wall and moved back to the sink, avoiding the glass, and grabbed a roll of bandages that were behind the mirror and then a wet cloth. Turning back and kneeling down he began to clean the blood off then started to bandage the hand.

The teen's sobs died down until he cried himself to sleep. Finishing wrapping the bandage Wildwing shed a tear at what he just saw. His brother was in pain, a kind of pain that he couldn't treat. This whole thing was tearing the teen up to the point to where he was hurting himself. He was not ready for the sight that he saw hours ago

**Flashback**

The team received a distress signal from Nosedive's comm and they rushed out to his location, fearing that he might be being attacked. The Migrator stopped at the entrance of an alley as they all moved out and searched where the signal came from. "Somewhere down there," Tanya pointed out as they moved down the alley. They brought out some flashlights, as the alleyway was too dark for them to see anything. As the lights shined upon random parts of the area they immediately stopped when the beam shined upon someone. Moving over to it they turned the person over and shined the light on the face. "That's Thrash…one of Nosedive's friends," Wildwing announced as Tanya moved next to them and check his vitals.

"He's knocked out," Tanya said to everyone's relief.

Moving further the light shined upon another person, who they found to be Mookie, Nosedive's other friend. Who also was knocked out. "That's both of Nosedive's friends, but where is he and what happened?"

"Wildwing…"Duke called out.

The leader looked up at Duke's direction and looked at where the light was. Small drops of blood was shown on the ground, fresh, and going around the corner. Fearing the worst Wildwing moved around it and was shocked at what he saw. There was another person on the ground not moving, but the blood lead to him. Noticing something on the other side he shinned the light and found his brother. Nosedive was against the wall, knees to his chest, shaking and in his hands was a knife, which was covered in blood along with his hands.

The older mallard immediately rushed to his brother's side. "Dive! Dive what happened…What's wrong?" He said in concern, but didn't get a response, it was like he was in a trance of some kind.

He reached and touched his shoulder but the contact made the teen jump as the knife flew from his hand. Nosedive was breathing heavily as he tried to see who it was. "W…Wing?" Once he confirmed who it was he then flung his arms around his brother and started crying.

"Dive what's wrong?" He asked as he returned the embrace, worrying that something was wrong.

"I…I…I…" He tried to say but was in shock.

"Calm down…what happened?"

"I…I…killed him."

**End Flashback**

Wildwing shed a tear as those three words replayed inside his head. This was something that he would have never expected to happen to his baby brother. He was too young to experience something like this, taking a life was something that was very traumatic and hard to deal with. Especially since it was his first kill, which was always the hardest. There was no way he could help him, mainly because he himself never took a life so he didn't know how to deal with something like this. Everyone else were shocked at what they saw and heard about what he did. They weren't really sure how to respond to something like that.

Wiping the tear away he gently took Nosedive into his arms and carried him back into the bedroom. He passed his brother's bed and stopped in front of his own. He doubt Nosedive would want to be alone in his bed and decided that he was going to sleep with him. He softly laid his baby bro down on the mattress. After covering him with the blanket he got on his side and laid back down. His eyes looked at Nosedive's face one last time, he looked slightly peaceful at the moment but he knew that it wasn't going to last. A sigh escaped from his beak as his eyes closed, but not before another tear fell as he fell asleep. _'He's too young for this…'_

**_A/N: Hope you like, this is the second chapter story. My facts still aren't clear for this series so I hope you bear with me. Now this second one will revolve around Nosedive and how he copes with his first kill. Please send me a review and stay tuned for the second chapter. _**


	2. Morning After

**Author's Note: ****Sorry for the wait, important things popped up and I didn't really have that much time to write this. Enjoy.**

Chapter 2: Morning After

Nosedive toss and turned in bed, his semi peaceful face was replaced with one of terror. Gibberish was spewing from his beak as he talked in his sleep.

**Dreamscape**

The street was deserted as three teens casually walked together, chatting amongst themselves. "…man we have to do this again sometime," Nosedive spoke to his two friends.

"I hear ya," Responded Thrash.

"Maybe we can make it a double feature," Replied Mookie.

"If my brother lets me stay out that late," Nosedive commented.

"Man why does your brother make you come home so early, that's just not cool."

He just shrugged as he answered, "I'm all that Wing has left, I just take it as a sign that he cares and doesn't want anything bad to happen to me."

Little did they know that once they walked past a darken alley a figure emerged and started to trail them. His footsteps were silent to the trio as he pulled something from his shirt, which shined in the moon's light.

"But still he could at least give you some more freedom," Thrash commented.

Nosedive just sighed as he heard his friend, "I'll talk to him, I just hope, Ah!" He yelped as he felt something sharp press into his back.

"Keep walking, don't say anything!" A voice hissed at the three, they could only comply with the order.

**Reality **

Nosedive's eyes sprang open as he sat up in a cold sweat. His breathing was a little heavy as he looked and found himself in his brother's bed. He sighed in relief as he thought it all was a bad dream, but he then looked down at his bandaged hand. Memories of last night's events flooded into his head as he remembered what he did. His body started trembling as he brought his knees to his body and wrapped his arms around them. Eyes squeezed shut as the whole event replayed in his mind again, watching himself as he took the man's life over and over again. "Dive!" He heard a voice shout. He opened his eyes to see his brother walk from the bathroom door and right next to him. "Dive you ok?"

He looked into his brother's eyes and could see he had a concerned expression. All Nosedive could do was wrap his arms around his brother as his body shook. "It wasn't a dream…wasn't it?" He asked, even though he knew the answer.

Wildwing responded by wrapping his baby brother in a comforting embrace, "No…I wish it was though." The older mallard honestly didn't know how to comfort his brother any further, but he had to try in any way. "Are you ok?"

"I can still see it…It won't stop," he responded, tightening his hold. "Please make it stop."

Wildwing returned it as he heard the plead for help, all he knew was that he need to get his mind off of the incident for a little while. "Come on, get dressed and let's get some breakfast." Without saying anything else Nosedive nodded and sat up with his brother's help.

A few minutes later the two entered the kitchen, which everyone else were in now. All their chatter suddenly stopped once they saw them enter the room. By the look of dread on Nosedive's face they could tell he is still haunted by what happened last night. They all watched as their leader guided him to one of the chairs. "Kid…you ok?" Duke was the first to ask.

He just shook his head as a response. Wildwing then put a bowl of cereal in front of the teen, "Thanks," He spoke softly as he started eating.

They all watched him; all sadden at the state he was in. Nosedive was always in a cheerful and energetic mood, always making others laugh and being the cheerful one around, but now to see him in the state he's in was something they thought they never see. It was as if all the life was drained out of him. He barely ate anything before pushing the bowl away. "Something wrong?" Wildwing asked.

"Not hungry," He responded as he sat up and walked out of the room.

After the door's closed Wildwing sighed heavily as he hung his head, the others saw their leader's discomfort. "You alright?" Mallory asked.

"I just don't know what to do…" He responded as he turned to face everyone. "I never thought something like this would happen, I don't even know how help him through this."

"Believe us when we say that uh…none of us expected this either," Tanya spoke.

"But what can we do to help him? I mean it's not like we can talk to him about it since as far as I can tell none of us has experience a first kill."

It was then that everyone looked in Duke's direction; the mallard in question raised his eye as he met everyone's gaze. "What? Oh come on you can't expect me to have killed someone can you?"

"Well you are the only one with a mysterious past," Mallory responded. "So have you-"

She was silenced as Duke held up his hand, "I'm neither going to deny or confirm any of this. What I am going to say is that the kid needs someone to talk to him about this."

"Bottled up feelings will soon build up till it will needs to burst," Grin added. "When that happens unquestionable action may be taking place."

"Well he sort of vented some of his feeling to me last night," Wildwing said, after understanding what Grin meant.

"What do you mean?" Mallory asked.

He then retold every single detail about what happened after Nosedive's scream woke him up, and finished up with how he broke the mirror. "Poor kid," Duke responded after the story ended.

"I would have never thought he would go that far," Tanya added.

It was then the door opened and they all looked to see Phil walk in. "Hey…"

"Hey Phil," they all responded.

"How's Nosedive doing?" Phil asked.

"Still not good," Wildwing responded.

He sighed as he heard this, knowing what he had to tell wouldn't help, "I just got off the phone with Captain Klegghorn, he really needs get Nosedive's statement on what happened."

Wildwing winced at the piece of news, this was something that they didn't need right now. It was hard enough trying to convince Klegghorn last night that the teen was in no condition to recall what happened.

**Flashback**

Wildwing held his brother for an undetermined amount of time, he didn't care he needed to calm his brother down. Sirens soon hit their ears as they realized that the cops must have been informed. Soon the cops and a couple of ambulances arrived at the scene and it was closed off. The body was covered and both of Nosedive's friends were loaded in and on their way to the hospital. Wildwing finally managed to get the teen to stand and started walking him back to the Migrator. "Hey hold it!" A voice shouted.

He turned and saw Klegghorn walking up to him, "He can't leave yet," He responded by pointing at the teen. "We still need to get a statement on what happened here."

"That's not a good idea captain, he's still in shock."

"We have a dead body; we can't exactly call this manslaughter or an act of self-defense unless we get a statement!"

"He can barely move, let alone talk about this!" He responded. "He can give you your statement, but not right now. At least give him time to get over this type of shock."

He watched as the captain grunted, only to turn and walk away, "Fine, but you will hear from me about this."

Wildwing looked as he realized that Nosedive probably didn't hear anything. He sighed as he walked his brother to the Migrator."

**End Flashback**

"What did you tell him?"

"I covered by saying that he wasn't really talking, may have not been enough but it should buy some time."

"Thanks Phil," Wildwing responded as he walked out of the room. He made his way to the REC room and found Nosedive inside, on the couch flipping through the channels of the TV. Walking over he sat down next to the teen. "Hey Dive."

"Hey…" He responded, his voice deprived of life. He kept his eyes on the TV as he flipped through more channels. He stopped when the local news popped up.

"…_Late last night the police were call to a crime scene where local NHL player Nosedive-"_

Wildwing immediately grabbed the remote and turned the TV off; knowing a report of last night would make things worse. He looked at his brother's face; a look of shock was present, "Turn it back on…"

"Wha-"

"Turn it back on…Please."

He didn't know why but he did what he was told, confused by Nosedive's actions. A dread feeling was building up to him as he turned the TV back on."

"…_Officials haven't reveled any more details. The man was identified as Carol Bates, A local construction worker. Mr. Bates leaves behind a wife and two kids."_

Nosedive shut the TV off as soon as the report ended, mortified at what he learned. His body started to shake as it all fully sank in. "I-I-I…took away a husband….and a father…Oh no." Tears whaled from his eyes as his head planted right into his hands. The guilt from earlier increased dramatically.

_**A/N: Hope you like, the news report may have not been that long, it's just that I have trouble with that kind of stuff. I'll try not to take long on the next one. **_


	3. Friendly Visit

**Author's Note: ****Sorry for the wait, upcoming Thanksgiving plans have been taking up my time. Here it is, enjoy.**

Chapter 3: Friendly Visit

After some time the others decided to go and check on the two brothers, but were confused at what happened when they entered the room. They found the two of them on the couch; Nosedive was lying down with his head on Wildwing's lap, asleep. The teen's face was red and his eyes looked a little damped, as if he was crying. Wildwing just held onto his brother, the mask was off and they could see the sadden face on their leader. "What happened?" Mallory asked as they all moved closer to the two.

Wildwing responded without looking at the team, "He watched a news report about last night." Hearing that made them wince on the inside, they started to understand what happened, but that wasn't the end of it. "Plus he found out that the person he killed…*sigh* …had a family."

That stunned them more as they listened, that piece of information was surely enough to hurt the teen even more. "How bad did he take it?" Duke asked as he moved and leaned on the couch.

Their leader stroked his little brother's hair as he responded, "He ended up crying himself to sleep."

No one said anything else after that, not know what to say at all. I mean how can one cope with their first kill after figuring out that the life you took had a family. Not only have you hurt yourself emotionally but you hurt others in the process. The silence was broken when Grin spoke up, while sitting on the ground. "Little friend's soul is wounded, the more pain that is inflicted will only make things worse. Healing it will be a slow process and will be a test of will."

They listened to Grins words as Wildwing thought of something, "Guys when he wakes up I'm thinking about taking him out, to do anything to get his mind off of this, hopefully it'll help."

"Good idea, I mean it's going to be hard for him to get over this but if there's a way to make easier than that should help," Tanya responded.

"Well maybe your first trip should be to the hospital," Phil suddenly inputted.

They all looked at him in question, "Why is that?" Wildwing asked.

**Dreamscape**

Nosedive slowly, and stealthy, moved his hand to the comm and press what he liked to call the panic button. A special feature that was put in the comm, it sent a silent alarm back to the Pond, just in case one of the Ducks was in trouble. After doing so he looked back up to the assailant. "Ok what is this all about?" Thrash asked.

"I don't have to tell you my reasons, my beef is with him," He responded as he pointed the knife at Nosedive. "You two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Then let them go," Nosedive protested. "You have me, so let them leave."

"Sorry but they have seen me, so they have to suffer as well."

"For what, what did I ever do to you?" he replied taking a step forward.

The assailant then thrust the knife forward, "I told you not to move!"

Nosedive backed up at the threat. "Whoa no need to get any more hostel then needed to," Mookie then said.

"Yeah, let's just talk about this ok?"

The assailant didn't listen as he walked closer to the three, knife pointed forward. The three teens back up a bit as he started getting closer. Suddenly Thrash threw himself onto the guy and grabbed onto the wrist of the hand that held the knife.

**Reality**

Nosedive jolted awake as he quickly sat up, breathing heavily a little bit. "Dive what's wrong?" A concern voice asked.

Turning around he saw Wildwing, then he noticed that he was on the couch in the REC room. "Uh…what happened?" he asked, swinging his legs and planting his feet on the ground.

"You feel asleep after watching that news report," He responded. "Did you have a nightmare?"

The teen hunched down and looked at the floor, "Yeah…you stayed with me the whole time?"

He nodded, "I couldn't leave you alone, not after you know."

"Thank you," Was all he said.

Wildwing then took a good look at his baby brother, taking in his down appearance. It hurt him a lot to see him like that, seeing him without his usual cheerful attitude was scary for him. Whenever he wasn't then there was something wrong, something big. He admits that they both have been through a lot together and the thing was that they both faced it together. But now his brother had to face the problem of his first kill by himself.

He knew that he wasn't feeling that great, but he still was going to do whatever he could to help him, no matter what it took. He scooted closer and wrapped an arm around his brother, "Hey look I'm not sure you're up to it, but why don't we just get out of here for a while. Just the two of us, try to get all of this off your mind."

The suggestion juggled in the teen's mind, it was somewhat too early for him to be doing anything else, but it might actually help ease his mind. Plus the fact that it would be just the two of them made him consider it. Maybe it would be good; hopefully it'll make him forget. He weighted the pros and cons in his mind and soon came to a decision. He looked up to Wildwing's face, "Sure…"

He smiled at that, "Good, and I know the first place we can go."

"And where's that?"

"A while ago Phil got a call from the hospital, it seems like your two friends want to see you."

Nosedive seemed to perk up at the news, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yes, now hurry up and let's go." Wildwing then saw something he thought he wouldn't see in a while. He saw his little brother smile.

The two walked through the halls of the hospital, making their way to the room that had Thrash and Mookie. Things went smoothly as they moved about, but Nosedive seemed to be kind of nervous to be in public, since a lot of people must have seen the news report from today. He wasn't really sure how others may respond to him, so he kept his hands in his pocket and pulled the collar of his coat to cover his face a bit. Wildwing saw his brother's discomfort and assured him that there was nothing to worry about. That seemed to ease him, for a bit.

"Wing what if they saw the report…and found out what I did?" Nosedive asked as he started to grow nervous the closer they got to the room.

The older mallard sighed as he replied, "I'm sure they'll be ok with it, I'm mean that's what true friends do."

"But what if things change between us?" He responded as they reached the room but stayed outside for a moment. "What if they start acting different around me?"

"I'm sure they won't, remember if there really were your friends they wouldn't," Wildwing assured him as he patted his brother on the shoulder.

Nosedive didn't say anything as he turned towards the door and let his hand hover just inches from the door, hesitant to proceed. Finally after summoning some courage he knocked before opening the door. The two walked in and saw both teens were awake, and their eyes turned to them. "Yo Divester!" Thrash called out as he sat up in bed, being careful with his left arm, which was in a sling.

"Hey what's up?" Mookie called out, being careful turning her head because of the bandages wrapped around there.

"Hey guys," Nosedive managed to say with a smile. _'Well so far so good'_ He thought to himself as he pulled up a chair and sat in-between the two.

"Dude when we woke up last night we were worried when we didn't see you with us," Thrash comment. "But then we were informed that you were fine and got to home, lucky you."

"Yeah and judging by it you got out of it ok," Mookie said next, looking her friend over.

'_I wish that was true,'_ He thought, but tried to keep up a stable image. "And it looks like you two got banged up."

"Yeah, sadly," Thrash went first. "All I got was sprain arm, so close to being a fracture. But Mookie was the luckiest out of the two of us."

"Yeah, I was," She confirmed, "Doctors said I got a concussion, close to being serious but luckily it wasn't."

"Well it's good to see that you two are fine," He managed to saw, pulling on a fake smile.

"Oh by the way, what happened to that guy from last night? I'm mean the cops came in and questioned us earlier but they didn't tell us?"

Nosedive suddenly froze up as he heard the question, his heart rate starting quicken. He was dreading this part of the conversation, because he wasn't really sure how to say it. He didn't know whether if he was going to even tell them but he knew that he had to. He then felt Wildwing's hands rest on his shoulders. Looking up he saw his brother's face, "You want me to tell them?"

The teen shook his head as he looked back at his friends, "No I'll tell them. Guys…he's…dead."

He saw the look of shock in the two's eyes, "What, but how?" Thrash asked.

"Yeah, I mean what happened after we were out?" Mookie seconded.

Nosedive's body started to tremble a bit as he tried to say the next few words but had trouble to. "I…I…*Sigh* I killed him."

Silence filled the room as soon as those words left his beak, the new look on his friends were unreadable to him. He just sat there, panicked at what would happen next. "Man…are you alright?"

His hopes seemed to perk at the comment; he really wasn't expecting a response like that. He was expecting more on the borderline of more silence or them asking him to go. He didn't really know how to respond to it but luckily Wildwing did it for him, "He's very shaken up about it, he…taking this very hard."

"Man…thanks rough," Trash responded.

"He…he also found out the guy had a family." Hearing that seemed to have made them understand a bit more.

"I guess I know why I feel guilt," Nosedive then commented, looking down.

"Look man you shouldn't feel this way remember the guy attacked us, he was going to harm all three of us. Chances were that if you didn't do what you did more than one life could have been lost last night."

The kid was silent as he heard his friend, but yet it didn't really seem to make him feel all that better. Yet it was cool to hear that his friends were ok with that he did. It was good for him to know that they would accept him regardless of what he did. "Look I know that, I thought about it a lot but…it doesn't rid me of the feelings I have. It doesn't stop the guilt I feel, and most of all it doesn't stop the face I see everywhere."

"Just give it time, everything will be fine," Mookie responded.

Nosedive then stood up as he put the chair back to where it was, "Sorry guys I need to go, I just…you know."

They both seemed to understand what he meant as they watch the two brothers walk towards the door. "Hey man," Thrash called out, Nosedive then looked back at them. "We'll be getting out of here soon, if you need to talk to someone about this you can always come to us."

"Thanks," He responded with a nod as he opened the door and the two left.

The two brothers exited through the sliding doors but then Nosedive stopped. "See man, I told you that they would understand." Wildwing commented.

"I know, but I thought seeing them might help me but it didn't." Nosedive responded, looking at the street.

"You have to give it time, it's not like this kind of thing will go away after hearing a few kind words." The older mallard explained as they started walking again.

"If that's the case then…hey what's that?" He pointed out as they passed the back of the hospital.

Someone was at the backdoor, looking out as if to check if anyone was around, which there wasn't. Out came what looked like a hospital worker and he was carrying some large container. But it wasn't the case that caught their eye; it was the thing they saw behind his back. It was a tail, an almost familiar looking tail. It then struck the both of them as they realized who it was. _'Chameleon!'_

**_A/N: Hope you like, my creativity is sort of slipping at the moment. So The next chapter may take some time. So please bear with me. _**


	4. Breakdown

**Author's Note: ****Hi sorry for the wait, I had bad writers block for a while, And also sorry if it seems rushed. Enjoy. **

Chapter 4: Breakdown

The two brothers ran for cover as they kept their eyes on Chameleon, curious as to what he was carrying. "What's he doing here?" Nosedive asked.

"I don't know," Wildwing responded. "But whatever he's up to we can't let him get away with it." He turned on his comm and called Mallory, a few seconds her voice could be heard.

"_Wildwing what is it?"_

"Listen up, and don't say anything, we're still at the hospital and we spotted Chameleon carrying some container with some unknown contents. We may need some assistance, so hurry." He then closed the comm as he focused his attention back to Chameleon, who just went down deeper into the alleyway, just far enough so no one else could see him. He was then about to move in closer but then remembered about his brother, turning back to him he met his gaze, "Dive…do you think-"

He was cut off as Nosedive spoke up, "Don't worry bro, I'm pretty sure I can handle this."

Wildwing was unsure of the response, he wanted to have his baby bro stay back on this but there was no telling when the others would get there and he may need his help. Time wasn't on their side as he made his decision, "Ok, but if it gets too much for you then get out here."

The teen nodded as the two then activated and switched to their battle gear, and then they raced to pick up the trail. They came to the alley's corner and pressed themselves against the wall before taking a look. Before them stood Chameleon, who transformed back into his original form. He just stood there waiting for something, and then out of nowhere Siege teleported into the area.

The two brothers then retreated back when they saw him look around the area, double checking to make sure that no one else was there. They stayed like that for a few seconds before they could hear their voices, "Do you have it?" Siege spoke first.

"Yeah, yeah it wasn't a problem," Chameleon responded.

"You didn't give yourself away didn't you?"

"No way I'm way too careful for that…well maybe." It was then they could hear the container being opened, so taking the chance they took a look. Luckily they were spotted and they had a clear view at the container's contents. In the Saurians hands were vials, with various types of colored liquids inside. Curiosity rose in the two as they wondered what it was they were looking at. "Why does lord Dragaunus want these chemicals anyway?"

"Not sure but he plans on using them in some sort of way against those Ducks, now are you sure you got everything?"

Chameleon nodded, "Yeah, but there is a little problem."

"And what may that be?"

"I think some people inside were on to me, so what we have is all we can work with. I'm not sure I would be able to get any more."

"Then you best not drop any of these," The larger one responded, sounding a bit irritated at the comment. The two then put the vials back into the container, it looked like they were getting ready to leave.

Pulling back once again the two brothers looked at each other. "Not good," Nosedive stated.

"I know, we have to stop them, there's no time to wait for the others." They nodded to each other as they rushed around the corner and aimed their weapons at their foes. "I'd stop if I were you!"

The other two looked up and saw the two Ducks, "What! I thought you weren't followed!" Siege then said to Chameleon.

"I wasn't, although I thought I wasn't." It was then he made a brake for it and ran past the two as Siege pulled out his weapon and fired. Nosedive and Wildwing both dodged the fire. "Dive get Chameleon, we can't let him escape!" Wildwing called out to his brother. Looking at where the lizard went he got up and started to chase after him, leaving his brother to handle the bigger Saurian.

He exits to the streets and caught sight of Chameleon going into another alley. He ran as fast as he could and was soon only a couple of feet away from his target. Coming up right behind him he tackled the lizard to the ground, knocking then both and the container to the ground. He staggered back up and raced to the container only to be stopped as Nosedive pointed his puck blaster right at him, "I wouldn't do that," He warned.

"Alright you got me," The lizard responded, hands up while backing up.

Nosedive then moved to the container and stood in the middle. "Alright now…now…" All of a sudden his breathing increased and his hands started to shake. His face then started to pale a bit, in his eyes Chameleon's face changed to an all too familiar face. It took the shape of the face of the man he killed. A huge shock rushed through him, which caused him to drop his weapon and back up. "No…no…" He mumbled as he clucked his head. He looked again and the face was still there, his eyes squeezed shut as he shook his head, desperately trying to rid himself of the image.

"What the…" Chameleon said to himself as he saw the scene before him. He had no idea what was going on, but he used the distraction and teleported himself out of there, leaving the teen alone.

Nosedive sat on the floor, eyes still shut as he brought his knees to his body and started to rocking himself, he just stayed like that. An unknown amount of time pasted, but he didn't care, he was still in a shocked state as he heard a voice, "Dive!" He looked up and saw the rest of the team. His brother went to his side, a concern look filled his face, "Dive what happened?"

He shut his eyes again, not wanting to look at anyone. "Take me home."

"Wha-"

"Please…take me home," was all he said. The others were confused at the request, they had no idea what went down a few minutes ago but it had to be something serious.

"But Dive-"

"Just please!" The tone of his voice scared everyone. It sounded like a little kid's voice when they were scared, it was something they never heard from his before. They knew now there was no room for arguments right now, so Wildwing help the teen up and noticed the container.

He looked back over at the team, "Can someone take that back to the hospital?"

"Yeah, I got it," Duke responded as he moved and picked it up. They all watched the brothers walk out of the alley, one of them deeply concerned as the other was terrified.

**Flashback**

Nosedive hit the ground hard, vision dazed as a high pitch ring filled his ears. Cradling his head in his hands as he slowly tried to get back up. As he looked his vision was blurry as he saw some figures going at it. After a few seconds it started to clear but his first sight was seeing Mookie hit the floor, knocked out.

Nosedive looked back up and saw Thrash fighting with their assailant. He saw as his friend lashed out and knocked the knife out of his hand, it skidded a couple of feet away from the teen. He looked back up to see the assailant grab Thrash's arm and strike him on the elbow. The kid screamed out in pain just as their attacker struck him right in the head, knocking him down and out.

Nosedive then realized that the assailant's focus was now on him. He watched as he walked towards him at a slow pace. His heart rate increased as he looked around for anything to help him, but his eyes lay on the knife. As if someone was controlling him he reached and grabbed the knife and held it in front of himself in defense. He breathing uneasy as he made the first strike.

**End Flashback **

Sometime later they all arrived back at the Pond, with Nosedive in front of everyone. He didn't speak the whole time, which made everyone worry more. Wildwing attempted to get the teen to say something, "Dive what-"

"Please-"

"Tell me-"

"No-"

"Tell me-"

"Stop-"

"What happened?"

"I froze up!" Nosedive shouted as he turned to face everyone. "I had Chameleon in my sights but…I froze up…I saw his face again, I saw him again!"

All their beaks fell a bit as they heard this; they weren't really sure how to go on now. "Nosedive look-"Mallory started but was cut off.

"I got scared again….holding the puck blaster in my hands scared me. I feared that I would have killed him too." Tears started to fall as he looked down at the floor. "Taking another life might have destroyed me."

"Kid-"Duke tried but too was interrupted.

"It's going to happen again…but next time it could cost me more."

Wildwing was devastated at what he was hearing; he now knew it was a big mistake letting him tag along earlier. He wanted to bring him into a warm embrace but stopped as Dive changed out of his armor, "What are you doing?"

More tears poured out as he took his comm off and threw it, which Wildwing caught. "As long as I'm still like this, then I'm useless…I can't let something like this happen again. I quit the team." He walked out of the room and headed for his, leaving the whole team in shock.

_**A/N: Hope you like, tired hard with this chapter. And sorry if Chameleon and Siege seem out of character, I have got their personalities down yet, so i'm going with what i know so far. Next chapter will be out soon. **_


	5. Pent Up Feelings

**Author's Note: ****Hey sorry for the wait, had trouble thinking up things for this. Now this chapter wasn't really suppose to be apart of the story, but it came to my mind so I thought more about it and it worked in my mind. Now things might get confusing but if you understand where I'm going, thank you. Enjoy.**

Chapter 5: Pent Up Feelings

The whole team was all stunned at Nosedive's actions; they had no idea that all these events had escalated him to the point of quitting the team. Silence filled the room; no one didn't know how to react to this. Their attention then shifted towards their leader, all wondered how he was taking this. They noticed a lone tear slid down Wildwing's face as he stared at the comm that was in his hand. His eyes shut as he sighed before making his way to one of the nearby couches. The others, after carefully deciding, walked over to him. "Wildwing…are you-"Mallory began but was cut off.

"Back on Puckworld we both made a promise to each other. We promised to always be there when we were going through a hard time…we would help each other and get over what was troubling us," Wildwing spoke as he then hung his head, sighing. "It looks like I broke that promise."

Everyone was shocked at the information that was shared; this was one of the many things that they didn't know about the two brothers. Apparently this one was important to the two since their leader was down. "Come on Wildwing, you haven't broken any promises at all," Mallory spoke, trying to cheer him up.

"She's right you know," Tanya added in.

"For a promise to be broken one would have to give up on helping with what's plaguing the other," Grin explained.

"Grin has a point," Duke chipped in. "You haven't failed at anything; the situation has just rose to a point which could have cause the kid to snap. He can still be helped but it's going to be harder."

"Yeah but…quitting the team?"

"He's scared that he might kill some again," Tanya started to explain. "He might not want to risk it, and being a part of the team might present that risk."

"That's understandable but…what can I do at this point?" He asked while looking at every one of his teammates. He was desperate for answers right now; he really wanted his brother back.

"Little friend needs guidance right now," Grin spoke. "He is lost in a sea of emotions that are slowly starting to break him; he needs to express them right now."

Wildwing remained silent at the comment, slowly understanding what he meant. Mallory then clarified as she put her hand on his shoulder, "Your brother needs you the most right now, he needs to vent out what he's feeling."

He was still silent for a few seconds before standing up, not making eye contact with anyone. "I have a promise to keep…and there is no way that I'm going to break it." He then turned to face everyone. "This is going to be more than I can handle…please help me."

Everyone looked at one another; nodding as they all came to a silent agreement, then Duke spoke up, "You don't even need to ask." He smiled at that then he started for the door, followed by everyone else.

They all were approaching the room that the two brothers shared, but stopped for a sec. "I know this is a bad time, but why did you two decided to share a room?" Mallory asked out of curiosity. This also sparked the curiosity in everyone else, when the Pond was built the two opted to share a room, it surprised everyone and when they asked why but they just responded by saying it was a brotherly thing.

Everyone watched as he sighed and then responded without looking at them. "When we were younger we were never that far apart from each other, even as we were growing up. We went everywhere together, we did everything together, and we were practically inseparable." He turned to them and they were surprised to see that he had a couple of tears falling from his eyes. "Then there came the time when we were at the camps…and we got separated. That time…being alone…not having him with me…it was horrible. Having every single thought being if Dive was scared…hurt…dead…or suffering, it all started to become too much. But then when we found each other again…our bond strengthens to the point that we didn't want to be that far from each other."

The others were silent as they absorbed their leader's explanation, hearing his words truly made them understand the bond that they both had. But yet it was something that they couldn't fully understand. Wildwing wiped the tears away as he faced the door and knocked before entering, everyone else following behind. When they walked in they found Nosedive on his bed, arms covering his eyes, little muffles could be heard from him. The teen heard the door open and looked up to find the whole team there. "What's going on?" He asked. His eyes were red, he was probably still crying.

"Dive we need to talk," Wildwing spoke first.

He sat up as he wiped the stray tears from his eyes, "There's nothing you can say that'll get me to change my mind."

Wildwing walked over and sat down next to his brother, "Dive we need you on the team, you know that."

"Why, I'll just freeze up again like last time," He responded, moving away. "I just can't risk that happening."

"But that doesn't mean for you to go and quit the team like that," Mallory responded as she sat down on Wildwing's bed, which was across from teen.

"It's my decision and I'm sticking by it," Nosedive seemed to be getting a little mad.

"Your decision should be reversed," Duke then tried. "We need you on the team more than you can imagine."

"Like how?" anger started to rise within the teen. "There's nothing that I can contribute to you guys at all."

"You know that's not true," Wildwing responded. "You do a lot more than you think, and that's why we need you."

Nosedive adverted his eyes and looked back down at the floor, "And what if I don't want to come back."

Everyone raise an eye at the response, "Why wouldn't you?"

"Tell me something…what have I mainly been doing ever since we came here?"

This confused them all, they didn't know where Nosedive was getting at, but still they answered. "Helping us with Dragaunus," Wildwing went first.

"Playing hockey for the team," Tanya went next.

"And-"

"And not really having fun," He interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

"Wing…tell me, how old am I?" then asked, looking at his brother straight in the eye, with a stern look.

"Wha-"

"Answer it."

Wildwing was taken back at the response, now really confused at where the teen was getting at, "Seventeen."

"Seventeen…only a teenager and I already taken a life…that's something I shouldn't have done yet!" Nosedive commented, standing up and looking at everyone else in anger. "I'm doing things that I shouldn't even be doing!"

The others were shocked at the teen's anger, still confused at what was going on. "Dive where is this coming from?" Wildwing asked, getting up and moving towards his brother.

Nosedive avoided the contact and just continued on, "I'm only a teenager for crying out loud! I shouldn't be going on dangerous mission, putting my life on the line, or even taking one!"

It was then that they realized what he was getting at. He was a teenager; the things in his life shouldn't revolve around saving the world. He should be out having fun, being with friends, and getting into trouble, but all that was nearly non-existence to the kid. Of course he went out with his friends every now and then but sometimes it wasn't enough. He had to give up a lot of that because he was committing himself to the team. The others started to feel a little bit of guilt inside of themselves for not realizing this sooner; this truly opened their eyes to the sacrifices Nosedive made.

Wildwing walked up and place his hands on his younger brother's shoulders, "Dive…I…I'm sorry, we didn't know you felt like that."

"Of course you didn't know!" He responded, angered and his body shaking, but then toned his voice down as he looked at the ground. "I've kept this bottled up for so long…and…and…"

Wildwing surprised Nosedive by pulling him into a war embrace; he could feel the teen trembling in his grasp, he could tell that he was just at his breaking point but held it back. It was then Grin walked up to the two, "Little friend let it all go, pent up feelings aren't good things to contain."

Everyone knew what the larger mallard meant and they watched to see how he would respond. Nosedive on the other hand didn't really know how to respond, some part of him was out, since he didn't want to be in the same room right now. But another side just told him to just let it all out, and lose a bit of control for a bit. He didn't really know what happened, his body just acted on his own, and then he felt tears run down his face till he started sobbing on his brother's shoulder.

Wildwing patted Nosedive's back as he held him; slowly he moved the both of them till they both were sitting on the bed. They stayed like that for a while, the others gathered around, waiting for the teen to calm down. Nosedive on the other hand kind of felt ok with what happened, all that bottled up emotions was finally released, he had nothing more to keep in the dark. His face was flushed as he calmed back down, still being held by his brother, resting his head on his shoulder. "Are you ok?" Wildwing asked.

"Yeah…kind of," He responded in a low voice. "I'm sorry guys…I'm not really sure what came over me."

"It's alright, It thing it was necessary for you to do that."

"Yeah, we honestly had no idea you were feeling like that," Duke responded next.

"It's just that…Taking that guy's life just pushed me. The stress, guilt, and terror I felt from it just got to me, and leaving the team just seemed like the only way out, plus all those hidden feelings suddenly surfaced."

"But why didn't you tell us about what you were feeling?" Tanya asked. "We could have talked about it."

"I didn't really want anyone to know…to me it would have been acting selfish."

They all mentally winced at that, they really couldn't believe that Nosedive would have thought of his feelings as selfish, he needed to be corrected. "Those feelings of yours…aren't selfish, they're the truth." Wildwing responded, looking down at his brother.

"He's right you know, we never really thought about the sacrifices you had to make while being a part of the team," Mallory seconded.

"I just miss everything I used to do before the team was ever formed. I just wish I could take some time and actually be a teenager, I want to hang out with my friends more often, go out on Fridays and have fun…heck I even want to be scolded whenever I do something wrong."

Wildwing quickly understood what he was saying; it was hard to believe that a first kill could bring forth all these emotions. He knew that the teams wellbeing should be his top priority, but his brother always came first when a crisis like this occur. "Dive listen to me, I understand what you're feeling and know it cost you a lot in your own right, so I'm going to give you a decision to make," Nosedive looked up at Wildwing with a worried face, but dropped it when he was given a warm smile. "Don't worry there's not going to be a wrong or right answer, but I really want you to think about it." He then reached and pulled out the teen's comm and handed it to the youngster. "If you feel like you still want to, no matter what, you can still stay on the team. But if this is something you don't want to do anymore, then you can stop, you can leave the team and none of us will hold it against you and we will honor your wishes."

The teen was stunned at the offer that was given to him, he had to make a choice to whether rejoin the team, or quit for good, no right or wrong answer. He looked at everyone else, honestly wondering if they really wouldn't hold his decision against him. Looking into every single one of their eyes was enough to tell him that it was true; they were really concerned about his happiness. A couple more tears fell as he held the comm in his hand, "Thank you."

"Just remember, think very hard about this and make sure it's what you really want." A nod was his only response as a yawn followed. They all saw this and must have realized all the venting must have left him emotionally exhausted and they could see him slowly nodding off. "Sleep Dive, you really deserve it."

The other all got ready to leave but Nosedive stopped them, "Wait! Please…can you all just stay for a little bit longer?"

They all looked at each other and all silently agreed, "Sure kid," Duke Spoke for all of them as they returned back to their original spots, waiting to see the teen sleep. Nosedive mentally smiled as his eyes fully closed and fell into a peacefully slumber, happy to know that all his friends were there and understood his feeling. And for the first time ever since the incident happened, no nightmares of that night plagued him; he went to sleep with a genuine smile on his face.

_**A/N: Hope you like, I sometimes wondered how Nosedive really felt since he really couldn't be a teenager when he wanted to, so I did my best with describing it. Hope you're liking it so far, and the next chapter will be out soon.**_


	6. The Whole Story

**Author's Note: ****Sorry for the wait, had a little case of writer's block, but I came over it. Plus I may have to to change the rating, since I metioned blood a few times. Enjoy. **

Chapter 6: The Whole Story

Nosedive started to come to as he started to slowly open his eyes, as his vision started to clear he could feel that someone was holding him. As everything became clear he looked and found Wildwing right beside him, asleep. He smiled at the thought of his brother staying with him, while he was out, turning his head he was surprised to see that everyone else was in the room also. They all were sleeping around him, Mallory rested on Wildwing's bed, Duke, Tanya were sitting on the ground leaning against the bed and Grin was in a meditative position, asleep also. _'Wow they all stayed…I didn't think they would care that much. I'm glad to have such good friends like them'_ He thought.

He turned his head as movement was felt from his brother, Wildwing's eyes slowly opened. "Hey bro," Nosedive spoke.

Wildwing looked at the teen with a smile, "Hey baby bro, how long have you been up?"

"Only for a minute or two."

The older brother turned his gaze back at everyone else, who was still asleep. Nosedive then looked back over at them, "They all decided to stay here till you woke up," Wildwing started out.

"How come, I thought they were only were staying till I fell asleep?"

The two of them then moved to the side of the bed and planted their feet on the ground. "That's what I thought at first, but I ended up say that I wanted to be here when you woke up, so you wouldn't be alone. And one by one they all ended up staying, I'm not really sure why but they said they wanted to."

"I'm glad they did, it shows that they truly care."

Wildwing nodded in confirmation as he wrapped his arm around the teen, "So feeling any better?"

He nodded, "Yeah, man what time is it?"

They both turned to the nearby clock and were surprised to see that it was noon, of the next day. "Wow we slept that long?"

"We all must have been that tired," They both then turned to the door as they heard a knock, apparently it were loud enough to wake up everyone else.

Wildwing carefully tread his way to the door, avoiding stepping anyone as they started to fully wake up. "Who could that be?" Mallory asked as she sat up.

"Probably Phil," Duke answered, wiping the drowsiness from his eye.

When the door was opened it was indeed Phil, and surprisingly captain Klegghorn, who had an irritated expression. "I'm sorry you guys but-"Phil started out but was interrupted.

"I need the kid's statement right now!" Klegghorn demanded.

"There wasn't really anything I could do."

They were silent when hearing that, they weren't really sure this was a good time for doing this, they had just got Nosedive to calm down and lift his spirits some notches. And now that could all shatter just talking about it, "Look captain-"

"No you look, I really need his side on what happened, and I'm not going to leave without it," He responded as he entered the room.

"But sir, I don't think-"Tanya started.

"Look I know he's been through a lot and I've given you enough time for him to get over it, but this is serious. Either I get his statement right now, or I'm going to have to get a warrant to bring him in, which is something I really don't want to do."

Wildwing was about to replied when Nosedive spoke up, "It's alright Wing, I think I can do this."

He looked back at the teen, beak slightly ajar, "Bro…are you sure?"

Nodding he looked at everyone else, "Only if everyone gets to stay, I want them to hear this."

That surprised everyone, most likely to them he would have wanted to do it in private, just in case they saw him breakdown in a way.

"Fine, as long as I get down what happened," Klegghorn responded as he walked over to a nearby chair and pulled out a notepad and pen. Everyone else remained where they were, at a loss for words at the moment as they waited for Nosedive to continue. "Now tell me everything that happened, starting from when you left and ending when your friends came in."

Nosedive didn't say anything at first as he looked at the ground, mentally telling himself that he could do this. Letting out a gentle sigh he began, "It started out around a little before eight…"

**Flashback**

Nosedive happily hummed a tune as he strolled into the rec room, heading for the exit. It was a weekend night and he had plans to hang out with his two friends, "Yo Dive, where you off to?" he turned to see his brother sitting on one of the couches.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I'm hanging out with Thrash and Mookie, we plan on catching a flick," He responded as he walked and leaned on the same couch.

"Oh, ok then have a good time, and be sure to be back before eleven," Nosedive rolled his eyes as he heard that, while Wildwing went back to the magazine he was reading.

"Come on Wing, it's the weekend, why can't I stay out longer?"

Chuckling on the inside the elder brother kept his eyes glued on the text in front of him, "Sorry baby bro, but you know the rules, beside we have practice in the morning and-"

"-I'm going to need sleep for it, I know I know," Moving off of the couch he headed for the door before stopping and turning back. "Oh yeah, if Mallory comes looking for me, you have no idea where I am."

That seemed to raise an eye and Wildwing gave and accusing glance, "What did you do?"

He didn't have to wait long for an answer, which came in the form of Mallory's voice, "Nosedive!" Wildwing sighed at the response and was about to make a comment but then found out his brother had left already. Chuckling he went back to reading, it never ceased to amaze him how funny his pranks were.

**Break**

"Ah, so you did know where he was," Mallory glared at her leader, which he gave a weary smile

"Hey let's not change the subject here," He responded.

"I agree with him," Klegghorn added as he wrote some notes down.

"Fine, but we'll talk about his later," She sighed.

"Ok kid now what happened afterward?"

Nosedive scratched the back of his head as he recalled the next part, "Well my friends and I went and saw our movie, nothing really happened there, so I'll skip that part."

"What was the time when you got out?"

"Uhh…I think a little past ten-thirty, we just left and were making our way back him, since it was nearing my curfew."

**Flashback**

The street was deserted as the three teens casually walked together, chatting amongst themselves. "…man we have to do this again sometime," Nosedive spoke to his two friends with a smile.

"I hear ya," Responded Thrash. "We never find time to do this enough."

"Maybe we can make it a double feature," Replied Mookie.

"If my brother lets me stay out that late," Nosedive commented.

"Man why does your brother make you come home so early, that's just not cool."

He just shrugged as he answered, "I'm all that Wing has left, I just take it as a sign that he cares and doesn't want anything bad to happen to me."

Little did they know that once they walked past a darken alley a figure emerged and started to trail them. His footsteps were silent to the trio as he pulled something from his shirt, which shined in the moon's light.

"But still he could at least give you some more freedom," Thrash commented. "Teens like us need our space to grow."

Nosedive just sighed as he heard his friend, "I'll talk to him, I just hope, Ah!" He yelped as he felt something sharp press into his back.

"Keep walking, don't say anything!" A voice hissed at the three, they could only comply with the order.

"Who are-"

"I told you not to say anything!" He threaten by adding more pressure. "Down that alley, now and no funny business or else your friend gets it."

There was nothing they could do right now, they were at a disadvantage since they weren't armed at the moment, so they could only comply with the stranger. Walking in silence the trio were herded into the alleyway, deep enough so no one could see them. "That's far enough, turn around slowly."

They did as told and slowly turned around and soon the assailant came into their view. The darkness of the alley covered most of his face, but they could make out a little bit of details. The stranger was male, hair was cover with a hat but they could tell it was short; he had a long coat on with the collar covering most of his lower face. "Who are you?" Thrash asked, heart starting to pound a bit.

"You won't be finding out anytime soon," He responded as he kept the knife forward.

Nosedive looked calm on the outside but was a scared on the inside, he had no idea what this guy intended to do but he didn't want to stick around and find out. He needed help right now, but didn't know what to do. It was then it dawned on him as he remembered the special feature on his comm. if he could reach it the team would be hear in no time, but he had to make sure the guy didn't see him. He saw his chance once the stranger's eyes left him.

Nosedive slowly, and stealthy, moved his hand to the comm and press what he liked to call the panic button. A special feature that was put in the comm, it sent a silent alarm back to the Pond, just in case one of the Ducks was in trouble. After doing so he looked back up to the assailant. "Ok what is this all about?" Thrash asked.

"I don't have to tell you my reasons, my beef is with him," He responded as he pointed the knife at Nosedive, who just raised his eyes, shocked. "You two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Then let them go," Nosedive protested. "You have me, so let them leave." If he could at least save his friends then things should at least be easier, but that was not the case.

"Sorry but they have seen me, so they have to suffer as well."

"For what, what did I ever do to you?" he replied taking a step forward.

The assailant then thrust the knife forward, "I told you not to move!"

Nosedive backed up at the threat. "Whoa no need to get any more hostel then needing to be," Mookie then said, trying to calm him down to some degree.

"Yeah, let's just talk about this ok?"

The assailant didn't listen as he walked closer to the three, knife pointed forward. The three teens back up a bit as he started getting closer. Suddenly Thrash threw himself onto the guy and grabbed onto the wrist of the hand that held the knife. The two struggled for control of the knife but with the distraction Mookie then charged. The assailant kicked his foot out and knocked her down, then threw Thrash's hand off and struck him in the face, knocking him back. Nosedive snapped out of it and wrapped his arms around the guy to hold him, he struggled in his grip but forcefully thrust his head back and clonked the teen in the head, making him let go. Eyes screw shut he couldn't see anything but he did feel that the guy struck him right in the head, knocking him down.

Nosedive hit the ground hard, vision dazed as a high pitch ring filled his ears. Cradling his head in his hands as he slowly tried to get back up. As he looked his vision was blurry as he saw some figures going at it. After a few seconds it started to clear but his first sight was seeing Mookie hit the floor, knocked out.

Looking back up he saw Thrash fighting with their assailant. He saw as his friend lashed out and knocked the knife out of his hand, it skidded a couple of feet away from the teen. He looked back up to see the assailant grab Thrash's arm and strike him on the elbow. The kid screamed out in pain just as their attacker struck him right in the head, knocking him down and out.

Nosedive then realized that the assailant's focus was now on him. He watched as he walked towards him at a slow pace. His heart rate increased as he looked around for anything to help him, but his eyes lay on the knife. As if someone was controlling him he reached and grabbed the knife and held it in front of himself in defense. He breathing uneasy as he made the first strike. The guy dodged it as he seemed to chuckle a bit, "Nice try, but I doubt you can even go through with it, I mean look at your hands."

The kid looked at his hands, and was surprised to see them shaking and he didn't even know it. Looking back up the man was approaching so he did something out of reaction. He man another jab but this time it came in contact with the man's arm, cutting it and causing small drops a blood to come out. "Ahh! That's it you're going to get it now!"

Nosedive quickly backed up in fear as the man rushed him, and in a flash his eyes shut and then…nothing. Slowly opening his eyes Nosedive found the assailant's face a couple of feet away from his but he wasn't moving. Totally confused at what was going on, he felt something warm and wet on his hands, to his horror he looked down at them and found that he stabbed the guy. Hands were stained with the guy's blood. Hands were shaking and breath was unsteady he uncontrollably pulled the knife out, the man staggered back and collapsed onto the ground.

Nosedive was in total shock at what he did, he didn't move at all as his body slid down the wall. He kept looking at the man, he wasn't moving and he knew why, he was dead. The teen looked at the weapon in his stained hands, lost in a sea of unknown emotions as the he came to the conclusion, he killed him.

**End Flashback**

Not a single word was spoken as Nosedive ended his tale, all were stunned at the detail he went into. Said teen was looking at the floor, not wanting to look at anyone at the moment. Klegghorn wrote down more things as he was the first to speak, "So you stayed there, frozen?"

Nodding he looked back up, "Yes, I was too shocked to move, I mean how would you react when you realize you killed someone."

Not responding he put the notepad away with a sigh, "judging from what you told me what you did was an act of self-defense that turned deadly. You had no choice in the matter, so by that you're in the clear."

That seemed to relieve some tension that was bothering everyone, glad to know that there weren't any consequences that would follow. They all watched as he moved to the door and let himself out, all still silent so they could wait to hear what the teen had to say. But all he did was stand up and head for the door, "Bro where you going?" Wildwing asked.

He sighed deeply as he didn't look back, "Out, I just need some air…and time to think." With that he left, with no one behind, or stopping him.

_**A/N: Hope you like, I tried hard but had trouble thinking of things. Now the next chapter i'm not sure how long it's going to take since I'm not sure what to make it about. Hopefully I can get it done by Christmas. **_


	7. Side Trip

**Author's Note:****I'm really sorry for the wait, I've been busy with the Christmas season, plus Allergies made it very difficult for me to concentrate and write. Now I rushed with this one so it may not be my best. Enjoy. **

Chapter 7: Side Trip

Nosedive sighed as he looked back up to his friends, leaning forward on the store's counter, "I should be feeling better right now, but…I don't for some reason." After walked out of the Pond the teen wandered around for a bit and soon remembered that his friends were out of the hospital and decided to go and talk to them for a bit.

"How can you not?" Thrash asked as he too leaned on the store's counter, even after getting out of the hospital the two decided to go back to work at the comic store.

"Yeah, I mean your whole team is behind you and most of all you have nothing to worry about from the cops," Mookie responded.

"I know I should be ecstatic but yet there's something still nagging at me, but I'm not really sure what it is."

"Well what is it then?" She asked, looking at her friend.

He stayed silent as he tried to figure out what it was, he was slowly getting over the thing but there was one more thing left that he didn't account for. "I'm not really sure…it feels like…I still did something wrong and I'm not feeling fine with it. Like things aren't going to be ok unless I do something."

The two friends then started to think over what Nosedive explained, feelings like those were similar to one thing. They both came to the same conclusion as Thrash responded, "Dude it sounds like you feel…guilt."

As soon as the word left his mouth Nosedive immediately understood the reason why he felt that way, and dropped his shoulders as he looked at the ground. "Man what is it?" Mookie asked the two started to grow a little concerned for him.

"Remember what I told you two back at the hospital?" He asked, looking up at the two. "The guy had a family."

Silence filled the room as they understood where he was getting at. No matter if you get over the fact that you killed someone but knowing you took that someone away from their family that will stay with you for a long time. "Man, how are you doing with that?"

He said nothing, standing there looking into space in deep thought. Without saying anything he turned and headed towards the door, "Hey where are you going?" Mookie asked, both curious for their friend's action. Nosedive open the door halfway before turning back the two, "I'm not really sure but…I have to make things right." With that he exited the building, leaving both of his friends to wonder what he meant.

Nosedive walked around the streets for a while, keeping an eye out for something that would aid him in his search. He finally found what he was looking for after an hour, a phone booth. Opening it and stepping in he grabbed the large phone book that was inside and flipped through the pages. Once he landed on the B's his finger scrolled down till he found the name Bates. He mentally sighed in relief as he only saw one entry in the book, looking next to the name he found the address listed. Grabbing the top of the page the teen ripped the page out, dropped the book and walked out of the booth, heading for the address of the late man's home.

Looking at the paper one last time the teen matched up the address on the page and the house right in front of him. Looking back up he confirmed that this was the right place, putting the piece of paper in his pocket he walked up the concrete path leading towards the front door. He slowed his pace as he looked around the property, a simple one story house with a wooden fence and a garage attached to it. He knew someone was home since there was a car in the driveway, which only made doing this harder than at first.

Reaching the front door he just stood there, hesitant to go through with this, especially since he had no idea how the occupants would take to him being there. They could be furious for him being here and not let him get a word in, it could pain them seeing him and put them further in despair, but most of all they could call the cops on him. A lot of possibilities could happen but he knew he had to go through with this.

He raised his hand up to push the doorbell; he noticed his hand was shaking as he did. It hovered inches away from the button, very hesitant to touch in as time seemed to pass. Swallowing a big gulp he finally pressed the doorbell and quickly pulled back and waited. Seconds passed as no one answered, second thoughts began to overcome him as he wanted to run away, but those thoughts passed when the door started to open.

A woman, with black hair, in her early thirties answered the door. Her eyes seemed to widen as she saw who it was, the teen then awaited to see how she reacted, but it didn't turned out the way he thought it would. "Oh…it's you," She responded in a surprised tone, without any hint of anger and fear.

The teen only nodded as he responded, "I guess you know who I am then?" Speaking to her in a low voice, adverting his eyes, not wanting to look at her.

"Please come in," She gestured, opening the door to let him in.

Nosedive was taken back at her actions; this was defiantly something he wasn't expecting. He didn't really know how to respond to this, all he could do was accept her invitation and enter the home. The inside as fairly neat as he followed the women, nothing was out of place or was messy. It was a nice place for a family to live in. He was led to the den of the house as the women turned to him, "Please have a seat."

"Thank you, uh…" He responded, sitting down.

"Karen, please call me Karen," She responded as she sat down across from him.

"Look I'm not sure why but-"

He stopped when she held a hand up to silence him, "Look I think I know why you're here, and all I can tell you is that it's alright."

His eyes widen when he heard this, "But…you do know what I did, right?"

She sighed as she stood up and walked over to the fireplace and looked at the various photos on the mantle, "Yes I do, I can say I was a little angry at what you did, but then I was told that Carol attacked you first."

"He may have but I really didn't want to take his life, it was forced upon me," Nosedive explained, standing up.

"It's alright, you were only defending yourself, even though it pains me a great deal that he's gone."

Nosedive knew he had to ask, even though it was personal, "But how come you're not furious that I'm here, I mean something like would cause someone to flip out?"

She turned to him as he saw a small tear roll down her face, "Carol always did over the line things when he got angry."

That raised an eye on Nosedive as he walked next to her, "What do you mean, He does things like this?" She nodded. "What made him do what he did?"

She stayed silent, moving back to sit on the couch, which Nosedive followed. "He had a small betting problem, which I found out recently. He got a little cocky and placed a large bet, which he lost."

"What was he betting on?"

She looked up and stared right into his eyes, "He was betting against your team on your last game."

All his questions on why were answered after she spoke, the memory of the game flooded back into him mind. It was the last period and they were down a goal; he managed to steal the puck and sped off towards the other team's goal. He made the shot but was fouled by one of the other players after he shot. The puck made it in and was counted, but in order to break the tie Nosedive received a penalty shot. He managed to make it and win it for the team, which was a big relief for them since they said if it wasn't for the penalty shot they might have lost. It was a lucky break, but perhaps a little too lucky on account of what would happen a day later.

He remand silent as he thought about it but then looked back up at her, "I guess I know why he was aiming for me."

She nodded in sadness, knowing it hurt a lot more to admit it, "Carol went ballistic after that game, he took out his anger on anything that was in his path. Luckily the kids were out of the house at the time. Afterwards he kept on say something about getting even, but I really didn't think he would go that far."

Nosedive shook his head while his eyes were closed, he still felt real bad even after hearing everything. "Look…I know you said it was alright but…I'm sorry, I'm really sorry for taking away your husband, and your children's father. It still haunts me since I did that, which I know I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life. I know there's nothing I can do to help you fix this."

He was surprised to see her right in front of him, kneeling down to his level, "I know you're sorry, and I can truly admit that I am mad at what you did and I may not be able to forgive you. But…he left you with no choice."

She stood back up, as did he, "Maybe I should go now."

She responded without looking, "I think that would be best."

Nodding he stood up and made his way towards the door, but stopped when he heard rapid footsteps. Turning he saw two young boys entering the room, stopping as soon as they saw Nosedive in the room. "Wow, aren't you Nosedive from the Mighty Ducks?" the first boy asked, who looked like he was ten years with brown hair.

"Man he is!" The second boy, of nine years also with brown hair, confirmed.

"Hi," Nosedive responded as the two rushed over to him.

"How come you're at our house?" The first on asked.

"Well…" He began, not knowing what to say. He could probably guess that they didn't know what he did and didn't know how to respond to their comment.

Luckily Karen seemed to save him by making up an excuse, "He heard about what happened to your father and wanted to come and offer his condolences."

The response shocked the teen; he would have not thought that Karen would do something like this for him. So all he could do was go with it, "Uh…yeah that's right." He then turned his attention back to the two kids. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to get going now."

They seemed disappointed at the news, "Aw…can we at least get an autograph?"

He couldn't resist and nodded at their request, immediately the two ran off to find something to write on. With them gone Nosedive turned to Karen, "Why?" was all he able to ask.

"You're their favorite player; I don't think it would have helped by telling them that you were the one. It will still give them someone to look up to since their father is gone," She responded still looking at him.

He remained silent until the two came back; the first one came with a pen and paper while the second child came with a camera. "Do you mind if we can have a picture with you also?"

"Sure," He responded as he took the paper and pen then wrote down his signature. Giving it back the oldest gave Karen the camera and went back as the three assumed a pose. Nosedive crouch down with one arm wrapped around each one. Karen smiled as she took the picture, also a second one just in case. Once done the two ran off, not before thanking the teen, both talking about how their friends weren't going to believe what happened.

Once they were out again Nosedive looked at the mother one more, "I'll be going now, and also thank you." Without hearing a response he headed for the door and left. A lot of things currently filled his mind as he started to feel good a little. Even though it didn't go perfectly he could push it out of his mind for a bit, so he shifted his thoughts to something else, he now had a decision to make.

_**A/N: Hope you like, now there's one more chapter left to do and I promise I'll have it up sooner. And I thank you all for waiting. **_


	8. The Decision

Chapter 8: The Decision

Nosedive quietly lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about a lot of things. It has been a few days since he went and talked to Karen and he can say things have gotten better for him. The thought of his first kill drifted from his mind to the point where he barely thought about it, but it still haunted him from time to time, but it wasn't as server as before. Whenever he needed someone to talk about it they would drop what they were doing and listen.

He would always talk about that night and how he was feeling; whoever was talking to him would comfort him the best they could and give him advice on what he could do to get it off his mind. This made him glad to know that there would be someone there to help him when he needed it. This also helped him with the current thing that was on his mind at the moment.

He was mentally debating on what to do with the decision he had to make, either rejoin the team or quit it. This is something he was really struggling with deciding since there were a lot of pros and cons to them, either one will change how he lived.

If he rejoined the team he could continue going out and help protect the city, which was something he liked since he always felt good to help others. Plus the more he worked with the rest of the team the more they all seemed to grow closer together. But then there are the dangers that occur because of it, there were numerous times when they got hurt and were near death's door and metrically pulled through. He really didn't want to risk that, plus the fact that he really wanted more time to unwind and be himself. His teenage life was supposed to be fun and wild, it was a time for him to decide what he would want in life and he was missing that badly. He could never really obtain enough time to just be himself, and to him he really deserved it.

Now if he quit the team he could have all the time in the world to be himself, which he sought after for a long time. He could finally be a teenager and do all the things he wanted to do without penalty. It made him glad to know that everyone else wouldn't be angry if he chose that, it showed that they truly understand how he was feeling and wanted what was best for him. But some random thoughts came to his mind, making him wonder how the others would be without him, what if there's a time when he's really needed and wasn't there? He shook his head at that, not wanting to think about that. Most of all he worried about what would become of his brother if he wasn't there for him, Wildwing was the only thing he had left in his life and he didn't want anything to happen to him.

Both were evenly matched, which was bad since it only made things even hard to decide. Groaning he sat up swung and planted his feet on the ground_, 'Man what do I do? I don't even have an idea on what to decide on.'_ He sighed in frustration as he cradled his head in his hands, taking a small break from thinking right now. Out of the corner of his eyes he found his comm. on the stand near the bed, reaching over he took and held it in his hands as he looked it over.

This item held a whole lot of meaning for him, and his future. He remembered getting it when they were fully established, he thought they were cool when he got his but he kept losing it every now and then. Even when the others got on him for it, if they ever did find out, he still found those time very fond. It was one of the times when liked playing innocent. This one item represented his place on the team, and also his only exit from it.

The more he looked at it the more he thought, things started to become clear in his mind. He started to remember why he wanted to be a part of this team and all the things they have been through. All the responsibilities that came with it and all that was required of him and all the things he had to sacrifice just to be a part of this. His eyes closed as he sighed once again; clenching the comm. in his hand as it became clear what he wanted to do. "Dive you ok?" A voice spoke as Nosedive turned towards it.

It was Wilding; he was so lost in thought he didn't notice him or that the door opened. He knew what he had to do. "Wing…please get everyone together…I've decided."

His eyes raised at the response as his heart rate shockingly sped up, this was the moment he was dreading. But he knew this would have to come sooner and later, "Are you sure of it?"

He nodded and responded in a low tone, "Yes…just get everyone together; I'll be there in a few." He didn't look but he knew that his brother left by the sound of the door opening and closing. He took a couple of minutes to sit there and compose himself for what he was going to tell them, but also ask them something in return. Something was nagging at him badly and he really wanted to know about it, but whatever the answer was it wouldn't affect his decision. Once he was in the right state of mind he slowly stood up and walked out of the room, he may have looked calm and cool on the outside but he was a mess on the inside.

Stepping though the door he found everyone there, lounging around and waiting for his appearance. Whatever they were talking about instantly stopped once he entered. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as they waited for him to say something. He walked closer to them and opted to stay standing, "I guess you all could have guess why you're here. I decided what I want to do." He stopped for a moment and took in the expressions on their faces. They all seemed to be worried about what he would say; he couldn't truly tell what it was that they were feeling. But he pushed that out of his mind as he continued. "But first there's something I want to know first. How do I really contribute to this team?"

That seemed to surprise them; it was something that they weren't expecting at all. "But Dive wouldn't it-"Wilding started out but didn't get to finish.

"Don't worry, what you guys say won't change my mind, my decision is final."

Everyone looked at each other after hearing his words, all not really sure how to start or who would to be honest. It was surprisingly Mallory who stood up and spoke first, "Nosedive you may not know it but you are really the most important person on our team. You do something that none of us could do." That made Nosedive raise an eye, kind of confuse as to what she meant.

Duke then continued on for her, "Kid without you we all wouldn't be the way we would be now, we all would be stressed out, barely talkative towards one another, and not that relaxed as we are at times."

Grin then took it from there, "Little friend you fill our lives with the light to go forward on the path of life. You are the energy that keeps us going when our souls are no longer in it to go on."

Still he was confused at what they meant, but it was then that Tanya finally clarified it for him. "Nosedive you are uh…the thing that keeps us all together. Without you we're not sure what the state of the team would be."

That seemed to be a shocker as Nosedive took in those words; he didn't believe that he did all that. He really couldn't until his brother took over, "Dive you add something that none of us could ever contribute to this team, stress relief. You see you make us all laugh when we have had a tough time; you can always make us smile when we're down and mainly you have a way to bring us all together. You can make us all relax and rid us of stress when it's present to us. To put it simply you're the glue that holds us all together."

Nosedive was on the verge of tears as he heard all of this, and then looked at the floor. He really didn't realize that he meant so much to this team, how could he even respond to this? He then felt the embrace of his brother; he didn't really care what he did right now so let some more tears fall. The others joined in on the group hug and held it for a bit until the teen stopped and recomposed himself. "I…I honestly…didn't know I did that much," He spoke, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"You do, and we couldn't be more thankful for it," Wildwing responded, giving him a smile, as did everyone else.

"Even though you can be a pain at times," Mallory said. "It's still great to have you around."

Nosedive then went back to the subject which he had to address in the first place by holding his comm. in view for everyone to see. "Well…I guess it's time for you all to hear what I've decided." After those words left his beak silence filled the room, time seemed to go slow as suspense seemed to build up. They all watched him just hold the comm. in his hands, occasionally seeing him shift his eyes back and forth between them and the comm. All their eyes raised in surprise as they watched him place the comm. back on his wrist. It was a clear sign of what he chose.

Wildwing was the first one to speak up, "Dive…are you sure?"

He nodded with a genuine smile, "I never been so sure bro, I mean I know I'm giving up a chance to be what I want to be but…life is about sacrifices, and we can choose to make them. Well I choose to make this one and still be a part of this team, also because I know that sometime down the road you all may need me for something and I want to be there in case something happens. Besides I started this whole adventure apart of the team, even though I wasn't originally supposed to be a part of it, and I'm going to be a part of this team to the very end of this adventure."

Stunned was all the other could be, Nosedive really wanted to be a part of the team till their mission ended. This was a new side of Nosedive that they never seen before, a more mature and determined one. Their respect for him grew significantly after hearing what he had to say. Wildwing moved closer and placed a hand on his little brother's shoulder, "Dive…I'm so proud of you right now."

It was Nosedive's turn to hug his brother, which he gladly accepted, "Thanks bro, I know what I've been through in the past few days have been hard on me, and I can truly say it still haunts me but it won't interfere anymore."

The two brothers broke apart and gave each other a warm smile, but didn't have time to enjoy it as Drake One's alarm sounded, alerting everyone. Wildwing looked back to his brother with a serious face, "You up for this Dive?"

He could only smirk as he changed into his armor, "Anytime bro."

Everyone then ran off but the older brother stopped the both of them for a moment, "One last thing…welcome back baby bro." With that he ran off the join the others.

'It's good to be back,' He thought as he ran to join the others, off to stop another one of Dragaunus's plans. Even though things may get bad for Nosedive all he has to remember is that his team is here for him and that's the only thing he would need.

END

_**A/N: Hope you like, I couldn't really think about what to do with the ending but this is all I got and I hoped you liked it. Once again I close another story, I'll admit it was kind of hard trying to do this one but I managed to do it in the end. I have a bunch more plot ideas in my head, Even though I have a lot of other stories to do I really want to get the next story done soon. I don't know when but I'll try to get my next story up soon. And I can promise you that it'll be good, kind of shorter than these ones though. Till next time see ya. **_


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